Guernsey Holocaust memorial vandalised

A plaque that commemorates three women victims of the Holocaust in Guernsey has been vandalised.

The Jewish Women’s Memorial, which commemorates the deaths of the women who were deported from the island in 1942 and eventually gassed in Auschwitz, was knocked from the wall it was attached to on Wednesday night.

The small island just off the coast of Normandy is a British Crown Dependency, and the women are believed to be the only Jews deported from the UK during the war.

The plaque reads: “To the memory of Marianne Grunfeld, Auguste Spitz, Therese Steiner, Jewish residents of Guernsey deported to France by the German occupying forces on 21 April 1942. They later died at Auschwitz-Birkenau.”

Stephen Regal, president of the Jersey Jewish Congregation, told Guernsey News: "I find it offensive by definition - vandalism is offensive and I'm unhappy about it but I gather it's being recovered and we can put it back and we can memorialise these people who lost their lives."

The plaque is currently at the island’s police station, and police say they are taking the matter “extremely seriously”.

Dalia Cramer, co-chair of United Synagogue Women, said: “We were shocked and saddened to hear about this act of vandalism. Hopefully the perpetrators will soon be caught and taught about what happened to the three women, and that the memorial will be restored to, once again, remember and honour them.”